Pumpkin Crunch

Need a dessert easier than pie? 

Everyone will ooh and aah about Pumpkin Crunch that goes together in a jiff, so you can enjoy time with family and friends.

Whip up your filling...just like pie...

top with a cake mix, pecans, drizzle with butter, the easier part! Bake for one hour...

Top with ice cream...

or our favorite, a swirl of whipped cream. Serve with lots of love and thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Crunch

• 1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 4 eggs
• 1 yellow cake mix*
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cups pecans, chopped
• ice cream or whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and eggs. Pour into a 9x13" pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle cake mix over the top of filling, then pecans, and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. It will hold together best if you let it sit for another hour before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 16 to 20 generous servings.

*Note: For family and friends that require gluten free desserts, this one is perfect.  Use a gluten free mix, (I like Betty Crocker) and really no one else would ever know!

Thanks to all of my SWB friends!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Cranberry Salsa

Are you ready for some F O O T B A L L with turkey and all the trimmings?  Well here's a game changer!

Cranberry Salsa will make your day!

Delicious with chips or hot roasted turkey, it's the easiest thing you'll ever set on the table, another blessing that will get you out of the kitchen and on top of your game.

Huddle Up!  Mix your favorite fresh salsa with one can of whole berry cranberry sauce.

That's it friends and if you have any leftovers, it will give your turkey sandwich with melted Monterey Jack cheese a kick-back through out your holiday weekend.

Have a good one!

xoxo

Cranberry Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Graze

I admit I get a thrill when I spy the first bag of fresh cranberries in the produce section each Fall, I am crazy for cranberries! 

A "superfood" high in antioxidants, tart and crunchy, cranberries offer more than average health benefits.  What I love most about these berries are their attractive bright red color and they can be used in countless ways.  I hope to share more cranberry ideas through the holidays, so be watching!

For our traditional Thanksgiving dessert spread, I was inspired by the new "seasonal release" 

of Jello's Pumpkin Spice Pudding and Pie Filling.  Cranberry Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Glaze 

seemed perfect for those few who aren't big on pies in our family.  Some actually prefer cake and ice cream.

It's fast and easy to make.  

Preheat the oven and prepare a 12 cup bundt pan.  Be sure to reserve 1/4 cup of the cake mix in a plastic bag.  Wash and dry your cranberries and then toss them in the bag with the cake mix and coating them well.  This tip helps to keep them from falling to the bottom of the pan.  

In a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil and beat together for about 2 minutes.  Now gently fold the berries into your batter and pour into your cake pan.  Pop it into the the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes...ovens vary, so watch it carefully.  I always test it with a toothpick.  When the toothpick comes out clean, it's done.  Cool on a wire rack.  While the cake is cooling, you can make the caramel glaze.  

Cranberry Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Glaze

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) Jello pumpkin spice instant pudding
• 1-1/3 cups water
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried

Preheat oven to 325 degrees for dark or coated pans, or 350 degrees for a metal or glass pan. Reserve 1/4 cup of cake mix in a plastic bag. Mix the remaining cake mix with pudding mix, water, oil and eggs. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Shake the cranberries in reserved cake mix. Fold berries into the cake batter. Pour batter into a bundt pan that has been greased and floured well. Bake according to pan type for 38 to 43 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out onto cake plate and cool completely before glazing.

For Caramel Glaze:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons corn syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add corn syrup and brown sugar.  Stir over medium heat until it comes to a soft boil.  Decrease heat and add cream.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Drizzle over cake, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides of the cake. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

This cake will freeze well prior to glazing.  Mine is all wrapped up and tucked in the freezer ready for the big day.  What's waiting in yours? 

Happy Baking All! 

Talkin' Turkey

Did you see this fantastic turkey cake  on Good Morning America?

Buddy Valastro, author of "Baking With the Cake Boss," gives us 3 easy steps on how to create it. 

Bake and prep everything...yeah there's lots of frosting to make...

fill the cake...

and decorate it!

What an adorable cake for the center of our Thanksgiving dessert table.

Join me tomorrow for one of those desserts...

All pictures courtesy of Good Morning America.

Over The River...Thansgiving Decor

W E L C O M E     F R I E N D S 

We are absolutely loving the bright Fall days here at our place!  Look what I "cooked up" this week to share with you.

It's true that I do like to get out of the kitchen and this is one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Our youngest daughter and SIL were married five years ago and we made these pumpkin topiaries for their wedding.  We actually used amazing fresh Fall flowers, fruits and vegetables with lots of bright berries, celebrating their special day.  

Ever since then we have gone on a Fall scavenger hunt to find all the fixings.  We have a natural little pond behind our home where we found cattails, dried weeds and thistle pods, wild roses and bushes with berries.  Our SIL grew and shared the pretty little gourds with us, thanks Shane!  The small green pumpkins were grown and contibuted by our new neighbors, Linda and Dennis.

We did buy the white and orange pumpkins, but that's all!  The log bases are stored year after year. The pumpkins sit on oasis squares that I use to build the arrangements and I made the silk wreath more years ago than I can remember.  I miss my dear friend Deby from Rexburg.  She made the happy hanging gobbler for me, a gift I always  cherish.

How do you say "Welcome" at your house this time of year?  I bet there is something close by just waiting to be arranged for your front porch.

Happy Veteran's Day.  Our love and thanks to those that serve us.
  

Have a great weekend all and Go Broncos!

Fruited Irish Oatmeal

Top of the morning to you!

My busy mornings are so much better when I plan ahead.  If clothes are laid out, bags and lunches are packed, and breakfast is ready, early mornings are manageable.  Several years ago, my friend Maggie shared the secret to her success, her beloved slow-cooker.  Since then I've tried cooking breakfast casseroles, Dutch babies, even hard boiled eggs in crockery, but hands-down, my go-to easy breakfast is from BHG,  Fruited Irish Oatmeal.

It's fancy enough for weekend guests or holidays, warm, sustaining, and yummy, drizzled with pure maple syrup.  Be sure to use Irish oats, as no other type will stand up to long cooking.

Fruited Irish Oatmeal

• 5 cups water
• 2 cups steel-cut Irish oats
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/4 dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup snipped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• brown sugar or maple syrup
• chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
• milk or Greek yogurt

In a 3-1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker combine water, oats, apple juice, cranberries, raisins, apricots, the 1/4 cup maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.  Serve oatmeal with brown sugar or additional maple syrup, chopped nuts and milk or a dollop of Greek yogurt.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Go ahead, make a full batch...it re-warms perfectly in the microwave.  

Happy Mornings ALL,